There was no sermon on Sunday, November 20. Trinity had a special music festival with the message integrated into the service readings.

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We had planned to worship at the church in Winnipeg, but decided to do our own devotions as a group. Pastor did a short lesson from Mathew 5:14 where Jesus tells us the we are the light of the world, and to let that light shine before men. We sang a song together “You are the Light of The World”.. After prayer, We all loaded up and headed south to the border. We arrived back in Fergus Falls at about 2:15 PM. Shawn Schneeberger had pizza waiting for us at the church. Thank you Shawn!  Everyone loaded up and went the separate ways. It is great to be back home again, but the memories of this week will remain with us for a long time. Thanks for all of you who took the time to follow our blog, and a special thank you to Kyle Sorkness, our webmaster. Most of all, thank you for your prayers…they upheld us this week. Praise God for this opportunity to serve Him!

Boarding the ferry on the way home

We packed up and left Thompson at about 8 a.m. We stopped at a beautiful waterfall a few miles south of Thompson. Just as we got to the Norway House corner, we saw four vehicles pull out onto the highway…yes, it was our Norway House team…what timing! Just another neat little God thing…one of so very many this week. We met at a gas station in Ponton where we switched people around so that we had an opportunity to visit with folks from each team, to share stories, experiences, etc. with each other. We drove all the way to Winnipeg, arriving at a church there at about 7 p.m. All 22 of us settled in at the church for the night, then went to Perkins/Pizza Hut for supper. When we arrived back at the church, we gathered together in one room and had share time, with everyone relating their most profound experience, etc from the week. All agreed that this was an awesome week and most plan to return next summer. We closed with prayer and the doxology before bedding down for the evening.

Team #1 packed up all of their VBS-related things, drove over to their new location, the multiplex, and got set up by the big indoor stage. Today’s lesson was the parable of the lost sheep. What was ironic was that Jane had brought along a stuffed sheep to use for the lesson today… and they couldn’t find it! The sheep was actually lost. Jane and Joanie drove back to the other churches to look for the “lost sheep” and still couldn’t find it, so they returned empty-handed. As they looked through everything at the mutliplex, it looked to them as if some kids had come in during the night and messed around a little with some of their VBS things, including the sheep, which they finally found hidden elsewhere on the stage. Because of all the sheep searching, Team #1 didn’t have enough time left to get totally prepared for VBS, but it sounds like everything still went well. Again, VBS today also included songs, a craft, which was a bead bracelet today, and a game, which today was musical chairs. They took a group photo on the bleachers with the kids holding the Bibles that had been given to them today. Pamphlets on Luther’s Small Catechism were also given out to some of the older kids. Although it was more challenging for Team #1 to hold VBS in the very large and sometimes “distracting” multiplex, it sounds like their last day was still very successful.

Team #1 had to clean up quickly because Sara, Kayla, and Olivia told the kids that they would meet them at the beach for a 4:00 swim. “That was kinda a neat way to end it,” said Shari. “Quite a few kids showed up to swim.” While at the beach, they could see the funeral procession moving through town toward the United church. As Shari said, “It was a big deal here for the body to be coming in. All of the kids, even the really young ones, kept talking about ‘the body coming into town.’”

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Team #2 (see blog header for team members’ names)

Team #2 had 7 new kids today. They had 110 different kids over the 5 days of VBS, with their average attendance in the upper 70s. “And that’s all we had room for,” said Pastor Lange. “So many kids give you a hug. They say, ‘We’re gonna miss you. Will you come back next year?’ It’s a wonderful experience.”

Team #2 acted out the story about the lost sheep today. “The kids like role playing,” said Pastor. “Tim took one of the little boys out into the trees to hide, then I started the story of the lost sheep. I was telling the kids that the sheep only know the Shepherd’s voice. Then I said, ‘Wait a minute, there’s a sheep missing.’ We had 50 or 60 kids today, and the kids thought everyone was there. ‘Well, someone’s brother or sister must be missing,’ I said. Then here around the corner comes Tim with the boy slung over his shoulder like a sheep. The kids loved it. We told them that we can’t loose track of each other and that Jesus doesn’t lose track of any of us either.”

“We have nice facilities,” Pastor added, “but we had no room for more kids. If more would’ve come on days two and three, I don’t know what we would’ve done.”

“I’m so glad I came up here.  I would recommend this for everybody. If you really want a mission experience, this is the way to do it.”

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Team #3 (see blog header for team members’ names)

Commenting on this last day of VBS, Chuck Dale said, “The puppets are always a big deal. The kids are always mesmerized by them. The kids also loved doing the hokey pokey dance today. Even the little ones… watching them try to spin around was a riot (laughs). This is a new site for the group. We didn’t really know what to expect. We had 18 kids on Monday, 25 on Tuesday, 35 on Wednesday, then only 19 yesterday, but we jumped back up to 23 or 24 today. For the first year at this new location, we’re quite pleased.” To tell the story of the lost sheep, Team #3 cut some sticks into staffs, seated the kids on the floor, and acted out the dialogue from the lesson plan. “It worked pretty well,” said Chuck.

“This has really been a very different experience for us,” added Chuck, who, along with his wife and a handful of members from the Norway House teams, are “first-timers” with LAMP. “We didn’t really know quite what to expect, but it’s been a fantastic experience. We’ve had more fun this week than we’ve had in a long time. Those kids are just the most precious. They’re a joy to be around.”

* * *

Once the three teams were back together, they went to a home in Norway House for the fish fry they had been invited to, where they were served pickerel, fries, and beans. “Oh my goodness, it was a wonderful outdoor meal,” said Shari. Pastor Lange put it this way: “We had a fish supper to top all fish suppers.” As a fisherman himself, Pastor added, “Our meal was at 6:00. They had gone out to catch the fish at 2:00… There’s no lake in Minnesota where you could fish for 35 people and have it ready for supper!” Dan Carlson joined some kids in an outdoor pool during the meal, and everyone had a laugh when one of the little boys ran up and said “Daddy! Daddy!” to Dan. He probably thought “Dan” sounded a lot like “dad.” Some of them played football and the rest just visited for a long time. They also took more photos, and then, after everyone joined in singing the common doxology, everyone stood in a big circle, holding hands, and the locals presented the LAMP team members with T-shirts from the Cree Nation that say “Norway House.” Shari said, “They even had a cake for us at the end of the meal that said something about VBS on the top. It was a wonderful evening. It takes a while for groups to get accepted up here, so this is a pretty big step from last year.”

“Now people have scattered to take food and left-over VBS supplies to different churches,” said Shari. Some went off to the rectory to take showers and some went back to the dump to see the bears again. “Dan’s plan for tonight is to stay up late playing games, because we’ve had very little downtime,” said Shari. “We have to get up at like 5:30 or some terrible hour tomorrow anyway, and there should be plenty of time to sleep in the vehicle on the way home.”

Pray for safe travels for the Norway House and Shamattawa teams as they begin the long journey home tomorrow.

The enrollment at all 3 locations went down today. This was possibly partly due to having Family Night last night and partly due to the funeral (see July 28th post).

* * *

Team #1 (see blog header for team members’ names)

Team #1 only had 50 or 60 kids today instead of the usual 80 some. Team #1 used a flannelgraph to tell the Bible story today, which worked well. The multiplex Team #1 will be using for VBS tomorrow normally functions as a hockey arena.

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Team #2 (see blog header for team members’ names)

Dan Carlson’s only comment from Team #2 today was that Tim King did a wonderful job performing Jill the puppet in a woman’s voice.

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Team #3 (see blog header for team members’ names)

Attendance was down for Team #3 also, but they still had about 26 kids (which isn’t too bad for Team #3). Again, the kids enjoyed a puppet show today and also “loved making and coloring origami boats” (the story today was about Jesus calming the storm). “The kids are writing all over our shirts again today,” said Cathy. Team #3 took a group picture with the kids, leaders, and the puppets (named Jack and Jill). The kids also worked on making a poster. “Hopefully we’ll get more kids tomorrow,” said Cathy, who just happened to celebrate her 50th birthday today. “I got offered prunes and told to look forward to a colonoscopy… Lots of old jokes today (laughs).” Remember to wish Cathy a happy birthday when the teams return!

* * *

When the three teams had finished teaching at their churches and were back together, they somehow ended up photographing  11 or 12 black bears at the Norway House garbage dump. (We’ll upload those photos when we can.) The now-older Cathy joined Sara, Kayla, Olivia, and Dan for their nightly dip in the lake. [With age comes wisdom...?]

As I spoke with the teams for a short time tonight, I could hear them playing Yahtzee in the background. Between the initial planning, the packing and the traveling, the settling in and the week of teaching, the time taken up with the kids and the working around surprises like having to change locations, the teams have certainly been through a lot together, and it’s great that they can have some time at the end of the day for group devotions, games, and fellowship. Continue to pray for our teams as they complete their last day of VBS tomorrow.

Team #1 (see blog header for team members’ names)

Playing hot potato

Team #1 had close to 80 kids today, and quite a few of them were new. The skit today was about the good Samaritan. “Sara and I got to beat on Kayla with foam sticks,” said Olivia Becker. “You get to hit a person really hard without hurting them (laughs).” The craft today used the materials prepared by the Trinity Crafters: hole-punched foam pieces, which the kids “stitched together” to make little bags for first aid kits. The kids practiced songs to be performed for their families at Family Night tonight. “It was really windy and cold outside today, so instead of playing games outside, we laid out a big roll of brown paper, and some of the kids filled it with pictures and words. I think the plan is to hang this banner up at Trinity for a while,” Olivia added. “A TON of the kids stayed after VBS today, so we played ball outside with them.”

A very memorable thing happened when one of those girls who had stayed after was talking with Sara. She asked Sara if she was a Christian. When Sara said yes, the girl asked how she could become a Christian, too. Sara continued talking with that girl when another young girl entered into the conversation and asked the same question. Pastor Lange joined the three girls and prayed with them. May this powerful story be a reminder for all of us back home to pray for these two girls and all of the children and community members reached with the Gospel this week in Norway House and Shamattawa through these LAMP teams. “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

* * *

Team #2 (see blog header for team members’ names)

With limited time on the calling card, Dan Carlson simply said that it was the normal routine during VBS for Team #2 today. “I did a rap during the skit, which went over pretty well,” he added. “I’m also going to do a rap with Pastor on Friday… I talked him into it.”

* * *

Team #3 (see blog header for team members’ names)

Barb and kids

Team #3 had 31 kids today. “The kids loved the skit today,” said Cathy Christianson. “For the story of the good Samaritan, Joe was robbed. He came up to the window and asked for help. He was such a good actor. Our puppets gave him water and a bandage. The kids absolutely love the puppets. We always try to include something about the York boats in the skits, which the kids really like.”

But it wasn’t just the puppets and the skits the kids liked today. As Cathy said, “They actually really enjoyed looking up verses in the little Bibles we gave to them.”

The weather allowed Team #3 to go outside today for games. “We got lots of hugs today,” Cathy said. “I was chasing kids, and if I caught them I’d get a hug.”

* * *

Once the teams were back together, they had a little downtime before they had to start preparing for Family Night, which sounds like it went very well. “Probably about a third of the kids, 60 or so, showed up with family members, so it was pretty successful,” said Dan. Olivia said that the family night festivities included games like a fish pond, beanbag toss, and “something with rubber duckies.” She said there were blocks for the younger kids to play with, and popcorn, cookies, and lemonade for everyone. “A lot of parents or other family members came. A lot of them just watched the kids, but some of them played, too,” she said. One of the mothers was especially involved, and she has invited the teams to come over to her house tomorrow. “A bunch of kids got prizes, so that made them happy, and the kids sang a couple songs for their family members,” said Olivia. Like last year, the teams asked the kids to sign their shirts. As Olivia put it, “My shirt is completely, like, completely covered. The kids loved writing on our shirts. They had us start signing some of their things, too.” The teams were also able to exchange mailing address with some of the families during the event.

Drying off after swimming

After Family Night was over, Pastor lead devotions about tomorrow’s lesson: Jesus calming the storm. Then Dan, Sara, Kayla, and Olivia went down to the lake again. “All four of us are determined to not take a real shower, so we are washing our hair down in a lake… which is actually kinda gross,” Olivia said with a laugh.

As successful as Family Night was, it wasn’t the biggest story in Norway House today. Edward Gablin, a relatively famous musical artist from the area passed away yesterday. “All of the flags in Norway House are at half mast because he’s known all over,” Olivia said. “People from Nova Scotia and everywhere have been calling people in Norway house today to see if the news is true.” The small community of Norway House is preparing for a couple hundred extra people tomorrow for the funeral. According to what has been told to the teams, when the body is flown in tomorrow, it’s customary that everyone in the town will be waiting at the airport. From there they will make the long procession to the church. “It’s a huge thing,” Olivia said. “A bunch of families will come to the church and cook. A bunch of them will be at the church from Thursday through Saturday. Whenever someone dies who was from Norway House, they fly them back to Norway House to have the funeral. There are a lot of really big funeral traditions here, I guess.”

The teams received this news when a couple community leaders came and filled them in. “They felt really bad about asking us to move to a different place,” Olivia said. “They explained the funeral traditions and said that we could stay at the Catholic Church. They said that we could continue teaching at the multiplex in town. I haven’t been there yet, so I can’t tell you much about it. I just know it’s a really big building. We told them that we completely understood.” Ironically, there’s also going to be a wedding at the same United church on Friday. According to Olivia, “They’re going to have a wedding in the sanctuay on Friday even though the viewing is going on in the next room.”

Team #1 is still able to teach VBS at the United church tomorrow before moving their VBS to the multiplex, but all three teams had to pack up their personal belongings tonight to prepare for the move to the Catholic church. Although it’s an unexpected change of plans, Cathy says that “the Catholic church is very nice inside, so it should be an okay move.”

In closing, Shari quotes David Schneeberger and the semi-official mantra of Trinity’s LAMP trips: “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not get bent out of shape.”

Team #1 (see blog header for team members’ names)

Joanie lead the skit today. It was the parable of the wise man and the foolish man building their houses on the rocks and the sand. It involved kids building the houses with their bodies. Team #1 symbolized a thunderstorm during the skit using a spring drum. As Jane Hughes said, though, “God gave us stereophonic sound. There was real thunder and lighting at the exact same time. It was like surround sound. It was enough to make believers out of a whole bunch of kids (laughs) because it was very authentic. The kids were just surrounded by the storm. It think it’s something they will probably not soon, if ever, forget.”

Kids playing games

Team #1 almost doubled the amount of kids they had, going from 43 on Monday to 82 today, so the team was scrambling. “We had to get out more chairs and more tables. We’re trying to get ready for tomorrow, but if get any more kids, we’re going to be hard pressed for space,” said Jane.

It poured when they were supposed to be outside doing games, so Olivia brought all of the kids into the “dining hall,” where they had snacks. A lot of the kids stayed around for a long time after VBS ended to play.

* * *

Team #2 (see blog header for team members’ names)

Team #2 had 83 kids today. Because all of the LAMP groups are using the same curriculum, their skit for the day was also centered on the wise man and the foolish man. “The important part of today’s skit,” said Dan Carlson, “was that it hailed right at the time we were talking about building our house upon the rock, so it was very timely.” Unfortunately, it also hailed during the outdoor games, so the kids had to come back inside early to a snack that wasn’t quite ready. “There were crackers going all over the place,” Dan noted.

Kids coloring

“Time goes by really fast. We wish we had more time. The kids stuck on me like leaches. They just love ya,” Dan said. “And it’s exciting to see so many kids, but man, they wear you out in a hurry. The puppets go over really well with every group. Ginny and I have done them so far. The kids are most attentive during the puppets, so that’s kinda fun.” Even after the VBS is over, the kids know where Team #2 spends the night (at the United Church), so they visit the team there. As Dan said, “They know that we go swimming. I take my showers down in the lake (laughs). It’s cold, but the kids follow us.”

Commenting on his York boat practice yesterday, Dan simply said, “Oh my gosh, that was an experience.”

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Team #3 (see blog header for team members’ names)

Donita Kimball, a member of Team #3 said, “We had an awesome day with lots of extra kids – new faces came in with the old faces. We enjoyed a puppet show today, which we hadn’t done before. We’d like to duplicate that because it was so successful.” The storms mentioned by the other two teams affected Team #3, too, hitting them about the time the puppet show ended. “We just stood at the windows and watched this miraculous hail storm. Many of the younger kids had never seen hail before.

Playing outside

Everyone was talking about the storm. It really tied the lesson in together. Perfect timing on God’s part,” Donita said.

A few Team #3 members watched some of the York boats practicing. Donita, Tim, and Sandy got to meet the CEO of the Cree Nation. He thanked them and shared some insight about the community. “He said that there are plenty of jobs for the community; the problem is the people’s lack of willingness to work,” Donita relayed, as she talked about the importance of the teams understanding the communities they’re serving. “He said that the boat races are an awesome thing because the youth get involved, and the races really involve the whole community.”

* * *

Kiwi and Kayla

When the teams were back together for supper, Olivia made 3 big pans full of lasagna. Some started relaxing and playing the infamous Banana-grams game for the first time, a favorite pastime with last year’s LAMP teams. Some of the team members also played one of the community’s favorite pastime’s: bingo over the radio. None of them won, but it was certainly the first time any of them had played that game over the airwaves. Dan lead group devotions about Jesus’ parable that the kids learned about today and about the choices we make in life. Jane handed out instruments, and the group sang some songs together.

“It ends up being an extremely full day. Tons of activity, work, but pretty, pretty cool,” Jane remarked. “We’re very glad we are able to do this. The people really seem to appreciate it. We’re not even getting started until 3:30 because there are so many kids to register. If this growth continues, we’re going to have to have more churches to do this in!”